Mark Jackson said something to Klay Thompson in the Pacers game that made me step back and say, "Wow, that's good coaching." Ric Bucher was listening to huddle after Klay Thompson strings together some wide open bricks, and Jackson said something along the lines of, "Hey look. You missed some shots and thats going to happen. What really matters is that you got back and you played defense. I can live with that." I really appreciated that little tidbit.

8th ave wrote:Mark Jackson said something to Klay Thompson in the Pacers game that made me step back and say, "Wow, that's good coaching." Ric Bucher was listening to huddle after Klay Thompson strings together some wide open bricks, and Jackson said something along the lines of, "Hey look. You missed some shots and thats going to happen. What really matters is that you got back and you played defense. I can live with that." I really appreciated that little tidbit.

No doubt.

Can anyone argue that this massive culture-change; this renaissance of defense and toughness and rebounding and half-court execution... Can ANYONE argue that it's not directly attributable to Mark Jackson?!?

Sure, you have Ezeli and Draymond now. In theory, you have Bogut. But this is the same core 3 (Thompson, Lee, Curry) that was defensively transparent last year and couldn't stop a leaky faucet. They're still getting the lion's share of minutes, but they're playing GRITTY ass defense now! It's not due to the free agent pickups; Carl Landry isn't any kind of defensive stopper... So isn't that entirely Mark Jackson?

Against Indy, I saw Festus get beat on a pump fake inside and ended up giving up a foul... but had he not grabbed the guy, DAVID LEE WAS RECOVERING BACK AND SWATTED THE OPPOSING CENTER'S LAY-UP AGAINST THE GLASS.

- I'll say that again -

David. Lee. The dude we got for the Randolph package, whose defensive game was previously composed of telekinesis and prayer, SWATTED Psycho T's inside lay-up after the Warriors' center got beat. DAVID LEE BAILED SOMEBODY OUT ON DEFENSE.

Say what you want. Mark Jackson is a man of God. And the proof is in the pudding.

I still see David Lee missing some rotations. If anything, I'd say he became a nonexistent help defender to average. I do see some above average on ball defense with Curry and Klay though. I'm comfortable with those two on the perimeter than I was a year ago. No doubt tho, our best defensive players is Ezeli in the post (with Bogut out), and Green on the perimeter. I attribute our defensive rebounding to the willingness of Barnes, Curry, and Thompson coming back for rebounds instead of leaking out. David Lee is doing great on the boards as well.

If I was Mark Jackson right now, there's two big things that I would implement:

1. On big road trips, you have to utilize your bench. The way he's playing our startes, especially on this long road trip where there are a couple of back-to-backs, we're going to burn them out. We have to see Jenkins a little more. I hate to say it, but Biedrins or Tyler has to play a couple of minutes. I've heard that Bazemore is a defensive specialist too, so we have to see that too. Playing our starters extended minutes for extended time will increase their chances of injuries too and I swear if we lose one rotational player, we could be in for a disappointing season.

2. It KILLS me that Curry doesn't jump into defenders when they bite on his pump fake. It absolutely kills me. Those are free points, and on a lot of occasions, he could be shooting 3. Here's the thing. I see Barnes pump faking all the time, and the reason it doesn't work is because he hasn't made enough jumpers where defenders want to contest his jump shot. Curry has already put this work in. He has shown he can make tough, tough, tough shots, and now defenders are flailing at him. He needs to jump into the god damn defender when this happens, because like i said, its free money.

Mark Jackson's Warrior team plays good team defense, fights for rebounds, runs nice half-court sets on offense, and has shown that it can execute at the end of a game. I commend the ownership, front office, coaching staff, players and fans for the improvement of this team. It was nice to see the team beat Miami in the final seconds of last night's game (executing a perfect half-court play and playing tough man-to-man defense).

Having gone 8-2 over their past 10 games, the Golden State Warriors epitomize why I continue to say the NBA is a coach's league. Head coach Mark Jackson has been the difference this season.

The Warriors went 6-1 during a brutal seven-game road trip, losing only in Orlando on Dec. 14. This season, armed with a real offseason and training camp -- as well as a normal routine instead of last season's compressed schedule -- Jackson has had more time each week for practice and film study -- a must for such a young team. Just look at the results; under Jackson's tutelage, the Warriors are 16-8.Before the season started, most experts looked at the Warriors and saw nothing different from the same old Warriors -- a team that has always been known for fast-paced offense and one of the league's worst defenses.

After all, look at point guard Stephen Curry, all 175 pounds of him, add a skinny shooting guard in Klay Thompson and a thin power forward in David Lee -- as well as a motley crew of centers -- and you get lots of outside shooting without a whole lot of toughness. In fact, one might guess that with the quality shooters the Warriors have, they'd be winning games with their offense.

Instead, Jackson has them rebounding with passion and pride, and playing hard-nosed defense. They are focused nightly on making things difficult for opposing shooters. They have one mission -- limiting opposing offenses to one shot on each possession. Make no mistake, this is not a team looking to create chaos. So they don't get many steals or blocked shots. But what they do get is stops, thanks to a physical mindset that comes directly from Jackson.

Ask yourself this question: Would this team be the best defensive rebounding team in basketball if Mike D'Antoni was the head coach? No. Maybe they would lead the league in offense, or just perimeter shooting, because of the offense he would run to utilize young shooters Curry and Thompson. But lead the league in rebounding and overall toughness? No way. And yet, that's what Jackson has done.

What's impressive about Golden State is that this is only the second phase of Jackson's plan. The Warriors are defending hard and rebounding, but to get them to play with that kind of energy, Jackson has to give up something. Indeed, the Warriors hack a lot of people. They are fighting to be a top-five team every week in defensive field goal percentage (and likewise from the 3-point line), but they are in the bottom five in free throws allowed.

This is why they are not yet considered a complete top defensive team. Chicago, now seasoned at playing this type of defense, can be a top-three defensive field goal percentage team as well as rank among the leaders in fewest free throws allowed. Defenses must crawl before they walk, and the Warriors are almost there. Still, no one is complaining, because this newfound toughness and overall identity is what helped the Warriors accomplish their recent run of success.